Yesterday Google announced it’s providing WiFi free of charge to 47 airports across the country during the holiday season. (A full list of the airports is here.) Because we’re also starting to feel the spirit of the season, today we invite all 47 airports to take us up on a special offer to use OpenDNS on the WiFi free of charge.

Now that the WiFi is in effect, we want to make it easy for the 47 airports to make it safe for the millions of travelers who’ll pass through the airports this holiday season. OpenDNS is the single easiest way to keep travelers safe from phishing attempts, taking the guesswork out of identifying the fraudulent sites for them. We have several versions of OpenDNS so we’ll work with the airports to get them the one that’s best for their network and needs.

Network admins at the participating airports: all you have to do is drop us a line at airportwifi @ opendns.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Giving holiday gifts is a big part of what makes this time of year so great, but with the economy going down the tubes, many of us are looking over our gift-giving lists and fretting about how we’re going to come up with gifts for everyone — without breaking the bank.

Going out on a limb here, but if you’re reading this, I’m gonna guess you’re the tech expert in your family and group of friends. You’re the one who’s asked to check your mom’s computer for viruses, who your neighbor runs laptop prices by to make sure he’s getting a good deal, who your friend calls when his Internet connection is flaky. You have knowledge and expertise they don’t, and this year I encourage you to gift it!

Give your loved ones the Gift of Safe, aka OpenDNS. Simply send everyone on your list the “You’ve Been Gifted” email we’ve created to make it as easy as possible to gift OpenDNS.

They’ll get all of the benefits you get now — industry-leading phishing protection, Parental Controls with more than 50 categories to choose from, and a faster and more reliable Internet connection. On top of all of that, this gift gives back. You’ll field fewer friends and family support requests.

Check out the video our good friend Chris Pirillo made for Gift of Safe this year, and give, give, give!

Happy holidays!

Now that Halloween is over, we embark on the two month journey through the American holiday season. I love the holidays; it’s all togetherness and helping others and giving thanks from here.

In that spirit, I got to thinking about all the ways we’ve been working to make OpenDNS easier for you and yours to use. OpenDNS is really a service every network should be running, regardless of how large or small your network is. So this goodiebag of helpful tools has something for everyone — from households to schools to large, global enterprises. We’ll keep thinking up more ways to make OpenDNS better, but as always, if you have suggestions I encourage you to submit them at Idea Bank, post to the Forums or email me directly at allison at opendns dot com.

1. A brand new video tutorial. This is a biggie, and something we’ve wanted to do for a long time. OpenDNS is not always the easiest thing to explain. All Internet users relate to the frustration of unreliable Internet and slow page-load times, and see the value of free Web content filtering. When we say OpenDNS is a service that’ll make your Internet safer, faster, smarter and more reliable, free, everyone wants it. But the setting up part — the finding your DNS settings and swapping your ISP’s IP addresses for OpenDNS’s — sometimes presents a challenge. The video tutorial walks you through the entire process in under 5 minutes.

2. Schedule a Demo // Request References services. This one is not new, necessarily, but since we’ve never really called your attention to it, I figured now’s as good a time as any. The Schedule a Demo and Request References were really designed with larger organizations in mind. We’ve learned that when you guys make a decision about using a new technology on your network, there are often lots of different folks involved in the decision making process. Sometimes there’s even paperwork that needs to be filled out, and calls that need to be made to existing, happy users of the service in question. Scheduling a demo couldn’t be easier. Just tell us a bit about you and your organization to prepare the OpenDNS rep who’ll do the demoing. Invite coworkers and get all of your questions answered on one snappy call. Same thing for requesting references. We’ll match you with an organization that’s similiar to yours. Have you seen how many happy customers we have?

3. Expanded router selection. We’re always working to keep our selection of routers in the instructions updated, but recently we went big and added several. Today we offer instructions for 16 different router manufacturers from the well-known Linksys, NETGEAR and D-Links to some more rare models. The goal is to have every router represented, to make it as easy as possible for everyone to set up OpenDNS, so look for us to continue adding to our gallery.

Happy holidays, everyone.

It’s July 1, and at OpenDNS that means opening day for SysAdmin Appreciation Month. If you recall last year we made a big decision: SysAdmin Appreciation Day, which is July 25, is not enough. We need an entire month to show our SysAdmin love.

This year we’re doing the SysAdmin Awards a bit differently. There are four categories, in addition to the highest honor, SysAdmin of the Year 2008. The SysAdmin of the Year 2008 will be selected from the submissions to the four categories.

Nominate yourself, or nominate a peer. If you’re reading this, and you aren’t a SysAdmin, I can guarantee you benefit from a SysAdmin, so take a moment to recognize him or her. This is your chance to acknowledge the SysAdmin who keeps your Internets running.

Rules for nominations are simple. Send an e-mail to awards at opendns.com, indicate which category you’re nominating for in the subject line and tell us why your nominee deserves glory. Judging will be done by OpenDNS CEO David Ulevitch (a former SysAdmin himself) and the all-star operations team of George Patterson, Bill Fumerola and Jesse Davidson. The deadline for submissions is midnight on July 22, the night before the OpenDNS SysAdmin Appreciation Party in San Francisco. The real prize is the sheer honor that comes with being selected, but winners will also receive a $50 American Express gift card and be announced right here on this blog. The 2008 SysAdmin of the Year will get $200, a winner’s package of OpenDNS clothing and schwag and a spotlight on our Web site. This is the real deal.

So without further ado, your 2008 OpenDNS SysAdmin Awards categories are:

Best Disaster Response Award

A hurricane, a fire, an earthquake. A datacenter meltdown. Something that would have caused business operations to shut down completely, if it weren’t for this SysAdmin. Like a knight in shining armor, this SysAdmin managed to keep the network up and running.

Unbelievable Uptime Award

SysAdmins take pride in total uptime and this SysAdmin’s router has been up for years. Heck, it’s been up so long he/she might not even remember where it is. Wow the judges with a number of straight days of uptime.

Shoestring Budget Award

This SysAdmin works wonders with a seriously tight budget. Tell us about the SysAdmin with the craziest buildout done on the cheap. We need details for this submission - tell the judges specs, total cost and what kind of awesomeness it powers.

Flying Solo Award

Even with a team of talented operators, SysAdmin’ing is not easy work. But when flying solo it can be downright heroic. Regale us with a (true) story of the heroic sysadmin who saved the world (or did something awesome).

That’s it SysAdmins. Good luck.

Web celeb Chris Pirillo, of Lockergnome fame, made a hilarious video of a phone conversation with his Dad. Chances are, the context rings familiar for you: he’s made a tweak to his Dad’s router — set up OpenDNS — and is trying to explain it. (”No, Dad. It has nothing to do with Microsoft Word. I have no idea why Microsoft Word is acting up…”)

Huge thanks to Chris for helping us spread the word about the Gift of Safe, a.k.a. OpenDNS. This holiday season we’re asking our fantastic users to give their friends and family the Gift of Safe by telling them about OpenDNS. We’ve made it super easy with an e-mail form and simplified instructions.

So enjoy the video, and give the Gift of Safe. Who will you give it to?

www.giftofsafe.com

Happy Holidays everyone!